A Maka for all Seasons
By DarkAngel
Disclaimer: Atsushi Ohkubo owns Soul Eater. I do not. C'est la vie, non?
[20. Changing]
Note: This takes place after Kid gets out from Noah's book.
One of the first comments Kid made as soon as he was released from his hardbound prison was about Maka's hair. Or rather, about her choice in hair accessories.
"Maka, I don't mean to be rude, but there's an imbalance in your symmetry."
The girl in question blinked. "Um... there is?" She checked herself. As far as she could see, everything was all right. Her Spartoi uniform was clean and freshly laundered; there were no loose threads or buttons in sight; she'd ironed the pleats in her skirt that very morning, so they stood out crisply against the rest of her ensemble. No, there was nothing wrong as far as she could see. She glanced up again, shooting Kid a questioning glance.
"Yes," Kid said, nodding emphatically. He reached out and tugged at one of Maka's ponytails. "Your hair ties don't match."
Ah. So that was the problem. Maka smiled, though the expression came out more as a grimace. "Yeah, I suppose they don't." She hoped he would drop the topic, but Kid would never let asymmetry lie. He frowned, his golden eyes focused on the imperfection. He shook his head and muttered something about it being 'unsightly'. If Maka wasn't used to Kid's antics, she would have found that insulting. As it was, she could only sigh inwards and wait for the inevitable.
"You know, they sell those as a set in the shop on Reaper Lane and 3rd." And so they did. The shop was known for selling all kinds of things Death related – including little hair bobbles in the shape of Shinigami-sama's skull mask – exactly the same as Maka was wearing on one side of her head. How Kid knew that, though, she wasn't sure she wanted to ask. Must be Liz and Patti. "If you like, I can buy you a new set." As though the one she was wearing was defective.
"That's nice of you, Kid, but I'm fine with the one I've got." He really didn't remember, and she had no desire to tell him. The first time they had met; that one time she'd worn those ribbons in her hair; that other time when they'd had the party at Kid's house. There was only one occasion she could recall when Kid hadn't made a huge fuss over the symmetry of her hair accessories and that was when she'd attended the dance on the night Shibusen was founded. Then again, Kid had been distracted by other things at the time. There was one moment in particular that really stood out in her mind.
She'd decided to change things up a bit that day. Instead of putting her hair up with the clear plastic bands she used for her ponytails, she picked out dark green satin ribbons instead. She hadn't worn ribbons like these since she was a little girl, but she was feeling kind of nostalgic that morning. And besides, the green matched with the stripes in her tie.
She came out of her room humming a mindless little tune; making up the notes as she went. Soul was already in the kitchen. He turned around when he heard her come in.
"Morning, Maka."
"Morning!" she chirped back, taking a seat at the table. Soul raised an eyebrow at her chipper tone but said nothing else. Nothing about the hair ribbons. Nada.
And although she waited all morning, all throughout breakfast, she didn't get one single comment. Not even a "you look different today".
Hmph. Boys.
They rode Soul's bike to Shibusen. As they made their way up the steps leading to the main building, they heard someone calling their names. Turning around, Maka's face lit up and she waved to Kid, Liz and Patti.
"Good morning!" she called out.
Liz waved and Patti leapt a good three feet into the air, waving both arms energetically. Kid opened his mouth to greet them – then stopped. His mouth opened wide. His eyes widened so that they looked like two golden saucers. It would have looked comical if it wasn't for the disturbing gleam in his eye that he got when he was thinking about –
"They're so symmetrical! You've really outdone yourself today, Maka! It never ceases to amaze me how well you can get the balance right. I've never seen anything so beautiful! And they match your eyes, too!"
Before she had the chance to blink, Kid was right up in her face, examining her ribbons and her eyes in turn. Oh gods, this was awkward. She attempted a smile, though she suspected she wasn't doing a very good job of it. "Hello, Kid."
Thankfully that seemed to pull him from his obsession. He made a sound that was something between a deep exhalation and an "oh". Clearing his throat, he took a step back, though he was still much too close for Maka's personal comfort. She shot a pleading look over his shoulder at Liz, who immediately stepped in, grabbing Kid about the shoulders and turning him in the direction of the main entrance.
"Come on, Kid. We're going to be late. We've got Phys. Ed. first thing, too." She perked her voice up so high it sounded slightly strained, but Kid didn't seem to notice this, as his mind was taken up with their upcoming class.
"Yes, that's right." Kid straightened his jacket. "Today will be the day that I hit 8 seconds flat." Liz rolled her eyes and Patti giggled, and they went on their way. Maka and Soul followed a few steps behind, Maka fingering her hair in consideration as they went. Kid had complimented her symmetry before; it hadn't been the first time, and she doubted it would be the last. And while she liked Kid and his company, she didn't want to get jumped like she had today. There had to be a way to get through to him without being rude...
"Why don't you throw yourself off kilter?" Soul suggested when she brought it up with him. He raised his eyebrows, looking her up and down. "I know you like things nice and neat, but let's face it: you're just asking for Kid to jump you the way you are now."
Maka's brows knitted at that. "What do you mean?" She didn't think there was anything particularly different or special about the way she presented herself. Soul raised his eyes up to the ceiling – it wasn't an eye roll, but it served the same purpose. "Look, just let me do this." And he pushed his weight off of the wall he'd been leaning on and came forward. He reached up. Maka blinked as she felt something in her hair loosen, and the whisper of fabric. Soul held her green ribbon clutched in between his fingers. His mouth quirked in that familiar crooked grin.
"There. Mission accomplished."
Maka raised a sceptical eyebrow. "That's all it's going to take, huh."
Soul grinned. "That's all it's gonna take."
Which brought her to her present situation. The suggestion was supposed to keep Kid off of her. Brilliant idea, Maka thought despairingly. Had she honestly expected Soul's harebrained plan to work? Never mind that she had thought it was a good idea at the time; the thing was, it wasn't working out now, and the scheme was therefore harebrained.
Kid looked like he was about to burst. "Maka, please. It's no trouble at all. If you like, I can go and buy them for you." Oh gods above, he was actually pleading. He was even now getting on his knees, and Maka flushed, knowing that Kid was only getting started. She looked around frantically for help but Liz and Patti were nowhere in sight. Neither was her partner.
Maka took a step back. "Kid..." She would have Maka chopped him, but she knew he wasn't trying to be rude or obnoxious. He couldn't help being this way. For better or for worse, this was what Kid was about. She tried to smile, though the expression was rather shaky. "Come on, Kid. Get up." She tried to modulate her voice to the kindest pitch possible. She wondered just what she could say to get him back on his feet again. In the end, she realized that only one thing would do it. "All right. You're right. I'll go after school and get another one to match."
Kid's head shot up, his eyes sparkling with... relief? Happiness? Something else? Maka took another involuntary step back. But Kid, using his god-given reflexes, leapt up, grabbing her hands.
"Great! Well, why wait for a good thing? Let's go now!"
"Er, now?" Maka blanched, trying to tug her hands out of his grasp. She shook her head. "Kid, we've got class." She renewed her now not-so-subtle search for a saviour. Kid had gotten better about his obsessions lately. Why in the world was he insisting they cut class to buy hair accessories?
Damn it, she was running out of options. Just as she was reaching around to wrench herself out of his grasp, she heard a set of laconic footsteps and looked up. She had to stop herself giggling. She wasn't sure how to feel. She'd never been so happy to see her partner than at this moment, but...
"What's the hold up?" Soul said grumpily, hands shoved deep into his jacket pockets. "I came back here because you two weren't following." He raised enquiring eyebrows at the position his Meister and Kid were in. "What are you doing?"
It hit Maka then what it looked like. Kid's hands enfolding both of her, him looking into her eyes like that; the fact that they were standing barely ten centimetres apart. If it were possible, Maka flushed an even deeper shade of red. If she had a free hand, she would have slapped it to her forehead. This day was just going to keep getting worse, wasn't it?
Kid looked up. His expression morphed from annoyance to surprise to curiosity. Slowly, he stood up. "Soul."
The white-haired teen in question tilted his head in response. "Kid."
"You... changed your hairstyle."
Soul grinned, revealing a row of very sharp white teeth. "Yeah. I did."
Neither Maka or Kid could stop staring. Soul had gathered up his bangs and tied the hair back off his forehead. The thing was, he was using her hair tie. The very same one she was wearing in her right ponytail. She bit down on the inside of her cheek and managed to choke out his name.
He grinned at her, and she bit down harder to make sure a laugh didn't escape. The hair tie combined with his hair band... It was too much. He looked like a one-eared rabbit. Oh, her world for a camera...
Instead, she schooled her features into a pleasant smile. "Thank you, Soul. You're right. We should get going." She jogged – practically ran – to his side. She turned back to Kid. "Are you coming?"
The god stared at them, his mouth agape. Maka felt sorry for him – after all, he really couldn't help his compulsions. She stuck out a hand. "Come on Kid," she said gently. "Let's go."
After some moments he nodded, still dumbstruck; nevertheless, he took her hand and they made their way into the building. As soon as they were in the classroom and seated in their regular spots, Maka gave Soul a sideways glance. "Care to explain?" she said lowly out of the corner of her mouth.
"Explain what?" He gave her a quick glance before turning his attention back to the front of the class.
"The hair tie," she hissed, unwilling to let him shrug it off by playing dumb.
He shrugged. "You should be glad I had it with me when I did," he remarked coolly. He gave her a pointed look. "And you should be paying attention."
That, coming from him was rich. Soul spent a good portion of his time in lectures staring off into space or sleeping. He was never actually interested in what the teachers had to say. She narrowed her eyes at him. "That's my hair tie."
"One of them, yeah," came the bored reply.
"And you just happened to have it with you."
"That's my story and I'm sticking with it."
Maka paused, taking stock of their conversation. Then she smiled. "Well, thank you."
Soul didn't look her way, but she could see the eyebrow quirking. "You're welcome."
"I think it's rather sweet, actually. Better than matching rings." There wasn't even a hint of a change in her voice. She picked up her pen and began taking notes.
There was a stunned silence. Score one for Maka, she thought, putting a flourish on a 't' as she continued taking notes.
She wasn't expecting the smooth chuckle. She stopped, looking up at her partner. His eyes were warm, his mouth quirked up in that way simultaneously said that he was amused, and that he had found a new toy to bat around. "Well it's about damned time you noticed," he said. He pointed up at his still bunched bangs. "I thought I really was going to have to get a ring or flowers or something clichéd before you caught on." He chuckled again and turned back to his notes, his shoulders still shaking with his amusement.
Maka gawped at him. No. No way. She opened her mouth, once, twice. Tried to say something, anything. But nothing came out.
"Keep getting distracted like this, Maka, and you're going to be the one borrowing my notes," Soul murmured, the smallest hint of a smile tugging at his mouth.
With a gasp, Maka turned back to her notes. She could feel her cheeks burning. Damn him. And just what had he meant by that? No, no. She knew. But he can't be serious. He –
Maka spent the rest of the lecture mulling over Soul's words. Needless to say, the notes she took weren't the best.
Damn you, Soul.
Author's Notes: I've been trying for ages to find something that suits this theme and this is the closest I could get to a decent product. See DA. See DA headdesk. Anyway, let me know what you think. And gods help me with the remaining themes I've got to work with – they're all body part-related! D: